By Justin Strawser
LEWISBURG — A Licensing Inspection Summary made public by the state
Department of Health shows how Heritage Springs Memory Care in Lewisburg
reacted to accusations of extensive elder abuse by members of its
staff.
In a document on Aug. 4 detailing six violations, DHS
reported that residents were sexually assaulted or harassed, verbally
abused or teased and recorded on a cellphone in private moments at the
facility located at 327 Farley Circle, Lewisburg. The actions were
reported to “Staff Person D” — an unnamed fourth staff member — who
failed to make mandatory abuse reports to the Area Agency on Aging or
DHS, as required under state regulations.
In the state report in
response to the violations, Heritage Springs wrote that all staff
members received job counseling and additional training, policies were
updated or changed and the three staff members accused were immediately
suspended.
After
an internal investigation and interviews with all staff, Heritage
Springs wrote that no other staff members admitted to having any
knowledge of the alleged actions described in the report.
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Two employees of Heritage Springs Memory Care were
criminally accused last month of abusing elderly residents at the Union
County facility between December and April. Madison Laine Cox, 18, of
Pinchtown Road, Montgomery, and a 17-year-old male juvenile allegedly
posed with patients in the shower or on the toilet, took pictures of
patients who had defecated themselves or had fallen to the ground and
took videos of themselves demeaning or harassing individuals, according
to court documents filed by the Buffalo Valley Regional Police
Department.
They allegedly sent those records to each other,
shared them on the phone app SnapChat, and showed them to classmates at a
school, police said.
The victims range in age from 72 to 100
years old. The majority of people residing at Heritage Springs are in
various stages of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, which limits or
severely impedes their cognitive abilities, police said.
The state
recently revoked the facility’s certificate of compliance and issued a
provisional license, which is valid until Feb. 4, 2024. If the
violations are not corrected within five calendar days of the receipt of
the letter, the state intends to assess fines.
The Aug. 4 letter
and report details a total of 30 violations stemming from licensing
inspections on April 12, April 13, May 3, May 9, May 18, June 6, June 15
and June 27. Two additional inspection summary reports in February and
December also showed a combined seven additional violations.
Heritage
is licensed for a capacity of 64. At the time of its inspection, it was
serving 30 residents ages 60 years and older and had a total daily
staff of 60, according to the report.
Details in the report
The
DHS report did not name any of the staff members or identify their age.
The report lists the individuals as Staff Members A, B and C. DHS said
“Staff Person A” is also an individual under 18 and “Staff Person B”
still attends high school.
Staff Member A grabbed and patted a
resident inappropriately on an unnamed body part and made “sexually
inappropriate statements to a resident.” They would tease the resident
until they became “very agitated and upset,” according to the report.
Interviews
with staff also determined that Staff Members A, B and C were “making
fun of residents and acting inappropriately toward them on multiple
occasions,” the DHS reported. “Staff interviewers determined that these
incidents were brought to the attention of Staff Person D, who failed to
report them to the department, as required under this regulation.”
Staff
Person A used their personal cellphone to take pictures and videos of
18 different residents at the home while working as a direct care staff
person. These photos and videos were of residents in the nude and being
showered/toileted. They also included a picture of a staff person
pinching a resident’s nose, according to the DHS.
Staff Members A
and B were “verbally abusive toward residents,” the DHS reported.
“Residents were emotionally abused by Staff Person A and B through
teasing and by Staff Person B by taking “a resident’s doll away, banging
the doll’s head off a table and telling the resident, “You don’t think
this is real, do you?”
Staff Person A also called a resident
disgusting when they ate food. Staff Person A would also ignore
residents when they were asked for things and would respond by saying
“Bah, bah,” according to DHS.
That resident, according to
Heritage, has a habit of spitting food out of their mouth when they are
full or do not want to eat. This incident was not brought to the
attention of management, according to Heritage.
Counseling and suspensions
According
to Heritage’s response in the report, Staff Member A was counseled
immediately when the resident care director learned third-hand about the
patting of the resident. A discussion was held about the importance of
being cautious with the way they talk and behave around residents as
well as being mindful of taking jokes too far.
The three staff
members have a “tendency to joke with residents to make them laugh,”
according to Heritage. “A discussion was held with both staff members on
(date redacted) stressing they must be cautious and there is a fine
line that cannot be crossed. Behavior was addressed with both Staff
Members A and B. At no time was any issue regarding Staff Member C
brought to the attention of the Resident Care Director or Executive
Director.”
Staff Person A was immediately suspended when the
executive director was made aware of the incident with the cellphone by
Buffalo Valley Regional Police Department, according to Heritage.
“An
internal investigation was initiated by the executive director and
supervisor, (and) business manager,” according to Heritage. “Interviews
were conducted with all staff on (redacted date) and all were asked to
write a statement as to any knowledge of inappropriate behavior or
photos or videos being taken by any staff member. No staff member
acknowledged that they were aware of behaviors or photos being taken.
AAA and DHS were both notified immediately.”
Staff Persons B and C
were also suspended. Staff Persons A and B will not be returning to
Heritage Springs, according to Heritage.
All three staff persons denied any wrongdoing, according to Heritage.
Additional training
Additional
training about residents’ rights, abuse training and mandatory
reporting requirements was provided to employees. The importance of
reporting alleged abuse was emphasized, according to Heritage.
One
resident “is known for joking with staff and has been reminded multiple
times to watch what they say and do to staff,” according to Heritage.
“This resident is alert and orientated at times and has been redirected
when” they make inappropriate comments to the staff.
Heritage claims that Staff Person D was never made aware of the comments that upset the resident.
“Immediately
after we were notified, the executive director and business manager met
with each staff member to see if any of them were aware of
inappropriate behavior or photos/videos being taken and were asked to
submit a written statement regarding any knowledge,” according to
Heritage. “Not a single staff member acknowledged they were aware of any
behaviors, photos or videos.”
Staff was also re-educated on the
importance of reporting allegations to both their immediate supervisor
and executive director immediately, residents’ rights, confidentiality
and a revised cellphone policy. Staff each signed to acknowledge the
fact they were reviewed, according to Heritage.
Under 18
A
person who is 16 or 17 may not perform tasks related to medication
administration, incontinence care, bathing or dressing residents without
supervision, according to DHS.
“There is no direct supervisor from a qualified DCS (director care staff) person,” according to DHS.
Heritage
claims that Staff Person A was “always under the direct supervision of a
charge nurse or a med tech that was at least age 21. Staff Member A did
partner with Staff Member B who was (redacted) years of age on
occasions when performing care with residents under the knowledge of the
shift supervisor.”
Policies changed
An internal decision
was made to not hire those who have not graduated for any position other
than dietary or activities, according to Heritage.
“Executive
director will work alongside administrative assistant to ensure staff
being hired as a caregiver are high school graduates or have their GED
and are over the age of 18,” according to Heritage. “Executive director
will audit all new employee files to ensure proper education was
obtained and verified by receiving a high school diploma, GED or
certificate of completion of certified nursing assistant programs.”
The
cellphone policy was updated twice since the incident and all staff are
now required to either keep their cellphone in their vehicles or in a
locked storage cabinet near the time clock, according to Heritage.
A camera was placed in the time clock area to monitor use of cellphones and to ensure staff are following the revised policy.
The
resident care director and executive director “conduct rounds to ensure
cellphones are not in resident areas and policy is being enforced,”
according to Heritage.
Heritage’s previous violations totaling
nearly 30 included the following: Some staff members did not have
up-to-date training or the required number of training hours; injuries
resulting from residents falling were not reported in a timely manner;
fire drill safety procedures were inadequate; numerous documents were
missing key pieces of patient information; not having enough staff on
specific shifts; paperwork was not properly completed; a new resident
did not have a cognitive screening in a timely manner and a threat from
one resident to another went unreported.
Upcoming court hearing
Cox has been charged with 17 misdemeanor counts of abuse of a care-dependent person.
The
charges were filed by Buffalo Valley Regional Police Patrolman Gary V.
Heckman in the Lewisburg office of District Judge Jeffrey Rowe.
Cox is scheduled for a preliminary hearing at 9 a.m. Aug. 24 in front of Rowe.
Attorney
Erica C. Wilson, of Murray, Stone & Wilson, PLLC, in West
Conshohocken, filed a lawsuit in Union County Court on behalf of patient
Alice Longenberger and her family against the assisted living facility
at 327 Farley Circle, Lewisburg, its management, building owners and two
employees who were accused of abusing 17 residents. Those listed as
defendants are Heritage Springs facility and corporation, administrator
Tambra Speece, Business Manager Lennea Brown, employees Madison Laine
Cox and a 17-year-old boy, property owner T-Ross Brothers, of Milton,
and Todd and Tom Ross and Christopher Helmrich, of T-Ross.
The
lawsuit alleges one count of negligence and one count of breach of
fiduciary duty against the Heritage defendants; one count of negligence
per se against all defendants; and one count of negligence and one count
of battery against the two employees. A jury trial is demanded and
judgment of at least $250,000 in damages is being sought, according to
court documents.
Full Article & Source:
DHS report details elder abuse, response from Heritage Springs Memory Care in Lewisburg
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